Yarn clearer for textile machines



sept. 2, 1924. 1,506.81@

C. R. BOWER ET AL YARN GLEARER FOR TEXTLE MACHINES Filed Aug. 24, 1923 Patented Sept. 2, 1924.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICEo CHARLES R. BOWER, O'FMETHUEN, AND JOHN FITZPATRICK, OF LAWRENCE, MASSA- CHUSETTS, ASSIGNORS TO ACADIA MILLS, F BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, A OOR-- PORATION 0F MASSACHUSETTS.

YARN GLEAREB, FOR TEXTILE MACHINES.

Application filed August 24, 1923.

To all whom t may concern.:

Be it known that we, CHARLES R. Bowne and JOHN FITZPATRIGK, citizens of the United States of America, and residents of Methuen and Lawrence, respectively, in the county of Essex and State of Massachusetts, have invented new and useful Improvements in Yarn Clearers for Textile Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to yarn clearers of the general type employed in the textile industry for removing burls, slubs, lint, knots or other enlargements from yarns, and more particularly to that type of clearer which causes the yarn to break when such an enlargement encounters the clearer.

The detection and removal of soft or iiuify slubs or masses of lint from yarn is difficult and frequently fails of accomplishment as such soft bunches tend to flatten and pass through the usual clearer orifices.

In the endeavor to minimize the passage of this type of slub the orifice is usually set as close-ly as possible to conform to that size of yarn which is being used, but this necessitates the provision of some type of adjust- Y ment and requires careful initial setting of the parts to yobtain even passable results.

The operatives are required to tie up the ends of every yarn broken by the clearer and to avoid as much work as possible they l Hfrequently take advantage of any adjust ment provided in the clearer for setting it so that it becomes practically inoperative and its functional utility is destroyed.

The principal object of the present invention is the provision of a non-adjustable clearer capable of handling yarns of a wide range of sizes and effective to detect both hard and soft slubswith certainty; to provide a clearer of self-threading type which does not tend to accumulate lint or fly; to

provide a clearer which can not readily be tampered with or thrown lout of action by the operator and to embody the above de sirable features in a structure of simple and durable character.

In the accompanying drawings wherein a preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated by way of example Fig. 1 is a side elevation of such a clearer in use and showing the yarn passing therethrough Serial No. 659,167.

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the clearer shown in F ig. 1, omitting the yarn;

Fig. 3 is a front elevationl to larger scale showing structural details of the yarn engaging elements of the clearer; and

4 is a fragmentary vertical section substantially on the line 4-4 of Fig. 1 and to very greatly enlarged scale illustrating the probable action of the clearer when a slub is encountered.

The numeral 1 indicates a bracket of any suitable shape and size shown as mounted upon a rail 2 which may form a part of any desired textile machine. The bracket is provided with an opening for the reception of a stud or pin 3 upon which a disc 4 is mounted. This dise may be free to turn upon the stud but is preferably normally fixed thereto and turned only at intervals to provide a fresh yarn engaging surface. The disc is furnished with a peripheral groove 5 substantially of V section having the inwardly converging side walls 6 and 7. The disc is also preferably furnished with an enlargement 8 at one side having an inclined inner face 9 which slopes toward the groove 5.

A lever 10 preferably of segmental form is mounted eccentrically upon a shouldered stud 11 secured to the upper part of the bracket 1. The portion 12 of the lever which is eccentric to the stud 11 constitutes a weight which tends to swing the lever downwardly into contact with the disc. The lower arcuate portion 13 of the lever is 'of truncated substantially triangular shape in transverse section comprising the downwardly converging side faces 14 and 15, and the edge face 16. This edge 1G may be formed by grinding off a. portion of the material of the lever or in any other desired manner. The inclination of the faces 14 and 15 isV substantially like that Iofthe walls (i and 7 of the disc so that the arcuate portion of the lever may fit snugly within the groove 5. By cutting away the 'extreme edge portion of the lever to provide the surface 16 a yarn passage of substantially triangular cross section is provided between the latter surface and the bottom of the groove 5. The lever 10 is furnished with a handle 17 by means of which it may be swungvupwardly and away from the disc4 and this handle is adapted to engage a fixed stop pin 18 projecting from thebi'acket 4 to limit the movement of the lever about its pivot stud.

In Fig. l a spool or bobbin is indicated at 19 and the yarn Y is shown as passing from the bobbin through the yarn passage of the clearer. A slub :2O is also shownr as approaching the clearer. The yarn Y lies iii the bottom of the groove 5 and the edge 16 of the lever rests against its upper surface. As a slub approaches the entrance to the yarn passage it encounters the converging surfaces 7a and 15a and 6a and 14d (Fig. 4) of the disc and lever respectively, and as it is drawn into the wedge-like spaces formed by these converging surfaces its outstanding fibers are` gripped and securely held. This action is made more ceitain by the pressure of the edge 16 which tends to divide the slub and force Vportions of it laterally into the converging wedge-like spaces aforeinentioned. The more fibrous and fluffy the slub may be, the more certainly is it gripped and held in the wedge-like entrance to the yarn passage, so that the breaking of the yarn is assured and the passage of the slubs substantially prevented. Thile particularly effective for detecting soft aiidriuiiy slubs, the device is equally dependable for detecting hard slubs, knots, etc.

As the removal of the soft and fluffy'slubs is not dependent upon any accu ate setting of the parts or upon a scraping action such as has commonly been attempted, the clearer is capable of acting upon yarns of a greater variety of sizes so that the necessity for ad-` justment is practically eliminated, while there is no substantial accumulation of lint upon its surfaces. r1`he device is of extremely simple form and can not easily be injured or so tampered with as to make it inoperative, for although the levei may be swung to permit a yarnl to be placed in the yarn passage, the stop 18 prevents excessive movement of the lever such as might throw the weighted portion 12 beyond the center and allow the lever to remain out of operative position.

In threading the device, it is merely necesary to swingthe lever and drop the yarn upon the inclined surface` 9 of the disc so that the yarn slides of its own Weight into the bottom of the groove 5. The; lever handle is then released and the parts are restored to normal operative position. While in theJ preferred form of the device the base member 4 takes the form of a disc, the exact Shape of this part is not essential as base members of other form may be employed if desired.

also contemplated that in place of mounting thel lever eccentrically, similar results may.v

Likewise, the exact yconfiguration of the lever 1() is not an essential feature vof;

be provided by furnishing it with a counterweight or spring.

We claim:

1. A yarn clearer comprising relatively movable parts having a yarn passage between them, the maximum width of said passage being substantially equal to its maximum depth, said parts having opposed surfaces constructed and arranged automatically to approach relatively to oney another by direct frictional engagement with loose fibre projecting from yarn traversing the yarn passage whereby to grip and hold such loose fibre and prevent its further movement along the yarn passage.l

2. A yarn clearer' comprising' relatively movable parts having a yarn passage ofy substantially triangular cross section -between them, said partsr having opposed surfaces defining a Haring entrance to said passage, and being constructed and arranged automatically to approach and restrict the yarn passage when a slub enters said flaring entrance. i

3. A yarn clearer comprising relatively movable parts having a yarn passage between them, said parts having opposed surfaces defining a flaring entrance of substantially V cross section leading to said passage. and automatically approaching to restrictthe yarn passage when a slub Aenters said. entrance.

4. A yarn clearer comprising a ybase having a groove of substantially V cross section, and a movable member coo-perable with the base having surfaces engageable with the walls' of the groove,` in the base, said surfaces stopping sliort of the bottom of the groove to leave a yarn passage, the movable member approaching the base to restrict the yarn passage when a slub enters the latter. Y

5.. A yarn clearer comprising a base provided with a V-groove, la member pivoted to turn freely aboutan axis perpendicular to the length of the groove, said-member -hav-l ing a portionV of substantially. vtriangular cross section disposed within the groove, the

edge of said triangular port-ion being truncated to leave a yarn passage between it and the bottom uof the groove. f

6. A yarn clearer comprising a base havving a curved surface provided with a peripheral V groove, land a lever having a segmental portion provided with converging sides disposed within the groove, said lever turning freely about an axis perpendicularl to the length of the groove- 7. A yarn clearer comprisingV a ing a groove of substantially V cross section,

anda lever provided with a truncatedf' substantially triangular portion disposed within the groove` the converging sides of the triangular portion normally engaging the opposed walls of the groove, the lever.

base hav- V turning about an axis perpendicular to the length of the groove.

8. A yarn clearer comprising a base provided with a groove, and a lever havingan arm of segmental contour having its arcuate edge normally disposed within the groove, the lever being pivoted to turn about an axis eccentric to its arcuate edge.

9. A yarn clearer comprising a disc-like base having a peripheral V-groove; and a lever having an edge of truncated substantially triangular cross section normally7 disposed within the groove, said lever turning freely about an axis perpendicular to the length of the groove.

10. A yarn clearer comprising a disc having a peripheral groove of substantially V cross section, a pivoted lever having a truncated triangular edge portion normally disposed within said groove, and means supporting the lever to turn freely about an axis substantially perpendicular to the length of the groove.

11. A yarn clearer comprising a base and a lever having opposed arcuate surfaces pro vided with a yarn passage of triangular cross section between them, and means providing an axis perpendicular to the yarn passage about which the lever may swing, the lever being constructed and arranged automatically to swing to restrict said yarn passage when engaged by a slub on the yarn.

12. A yarn clearer comprising a base and a freely pivoted lever having a yarn passage between them, the lever turning about an axis perpendicular to the yarn passage and being weighted to cause it normally to assume operative position, a handle for turning the lever, and means to prevent excess movement of the handle.

13. A yarn clearer comprising a base, a lever having a segmental arm provided with an arcuate edge cooperating with the base to define a yarn passage, and means pivotally supporting the lever at a point eccentric to its arcuate edge whereby the lever normally tends to assume operative position by reason of its eccentric pivoting, and a stop to prevent excess movement of the lever.

14. A yarn clearer comprising a disc having al peripheral V groove, and a lever pivoted to turn about an axis perpendicular to the plane of said groove, said lever having a segmental arm provided with a truncated triangular arcuate edge portion normally disposed within the groove, the disc having a peripheral surface inclined toward the groove to guide a yarn into the latter, a second arm projecting from the lever consti* tuting a handle by means of which the segmental arm may be lifted for threading the clearer, and stop means to limit movement of said handle arm.

Signed by us at Lawrence, Mass., this 20th day of August, 1923.

CHARLES R. BOVER. JOHN FITZPATRICK. 

